Preston North End are adamant they will not be selling Jordan Hugill this week but the news will come as a bigger blow to some of their Championship rivals than to Sunderland.

Simon Grayson quickly identified the Middlesbrough-born 25-year-old as a target are moving to the Stadium of Light to Deepdale.

But when the Wearsiders failed to land him quickly, other clubs took notice and the price rose to the point where he was no longer a realistic option for them. Reading are thought to have had an £8m offer rebuffed, and Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers were also credited with an interest. The most Sunderland have paid for a player so far in this transfer window is £500,000, though that could rise in the coming days.

Hugill handed in a written transfer request on Tuesday but a terse statement on Preston’s website confirmed that: “The club have rejected this request and will not be selling him in this transfer window.”

Lewis Grabban has joined on loan, while James Vaughan was bought from League One Bury. Grabban has scored three times this season but Vaughan has yet to find the net for Sunderland – not even in pre-season , where he missed two penalties.

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Ross McCormack is thought to be Grayson’s top attacking target, having worked with him at Leeds United. Aston Villa have been hoping to sell the striker, who fell out with manager Steve Bruce last season, while Sunderland would prefer a loan with so little money to spend. The arrival of Robert Snodgrass at Villa Park has pushed McCormack further still down the pecking order. He has played just 17 minutes of first-team football this season, in the League Cup.

Grayson insists he does not need to sell to buy, but having signed seven players before the season started, none have arrived since. Moving on some of their high earners would undoubtedly help in terms of the quality of player Grayson brings in as he looks to add depth to his squad.

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Wahbi Khazri has stated publicly he wants to leave, and Grayson is yet to name him in a Championship starting line-up. Lamine Kone has been an ever-present in the league but as the club’s most valuable asset, he is another they would like to move on.

They would prefer to keep Didier Ndong but would be hard-pressed to reject a big offer for their club record signing, who joined from Lorient for £13.6m on deadline day last August.

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Sunderland Transfer News

Jack Rodwell has been linked with an improbable move to Sporting Lisbon and the Black Cats would be pleased to get their highest earner off the wage bill but the fact he is the only player who has not had to take a pay cut on relegation makes him hard to move on. Rodwell was due to play his first football of the season at Carlisle United in the League Cup on Tuesday, but was unable to do so because of illness.

Hugill, who has scored three times in all competitions this season, began his career in non-league football, playing for Seaham Red Star and Consett. He has also had loan spells at Gateshead and Hartlepool United.